Nonstop flight route between Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shannon Airport (SNN), Shannon (County Clare), Ireland and Wakkanai Airport (WKJ), Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,440 miles (or 8,755 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Shannon Airport and Wakkanai Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Shannon Airport and Wakkanai Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Shannon Airport (SNN):

• In November 2013, Aer Lingus announced a new twice-weekly service from Shannon to Malaga.
• The furthest airport from Shannon Airport (SNN) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Shannon Airport (meaning Shannon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,015 miles (19,336 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Shannon Airport handled 1,400,032 passengers last year.
• Shannon Airport (SNN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shannon Airport (SNN) is Inisheer Aerodrome (INQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of SNN.
• In addition to being known as "Shannon Airport", another name for SNN is "Aerfort na Sionainne".
• CityJet launched a twice-daily route to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2008 when Aer Lingus closed its London Heathrow flights.
• In 2007, the European Union and the USA announced that an agreement had been reached on an open skies aviation policy.
• During the 1990s, the airport began to struggle.
• Because of Shannon Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Shannon Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.

Facts about Wakkanai Airport (WKJ):

• The closest airport to Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) is Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE), which is located 109 miles (176 kilometers) SE of WKJ.
• Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is located on Japan National Route 238 approx.
• Wakkanai Airport is an airport located 10 km east southeast of Wakkanai, Hokkaidō, Japan.
• In addition to being known as "Wakkanai Airport", other names for WKJ include "稚内空港" and "Wakkanai Kūkō".
• Until 1989, the JNR Temboku Line passed by the airport.
• The furthest airport from Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,446 miles (18,420 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• Wakkanai is the northernmost airport in Japan which is capable of handling jet aircraft.
• Because of Wakkanai Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Wakkanai Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.